Bag magazine



Aug. 28, 1962 J. D. HELM ETAL BAG MAGAZINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1959 INVENTORS Jhck D. M24 y FRAA/K 4. IVOPAIA'S J. D. HELM ETAL Aug. 28, 1962 BAG MAGAZINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 6, 1959 INVENTORS J M/c D. Ila-4M y F'RnmK A. one/0s Q1 77 Aug. 28, 1962 J. D. HELM ETAL BAG MAGAZINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 6, 1959 INVENTGRS Jhck D. l/EZM OPK/IVS lrrwweys 1952 J. D. HELM ETAL 3,051,297

BAG MAGAZINE Filed Nov. s, 1959 s Sheets-Sheet 5 III 1 5 INVENTORS J79cl D. IVEAM y Fiemvk A. floPx/A s United States Patent Gfiice M51297 Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,297 BAG MAGAZINE Jack D. Helm and Frank L. Hopkins, Minneapolis, Mrnrn, assignors to Bemis Bro. Bag Company, Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Missouri Filed Nov. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 851,295 18 Claims. (Cl. 198-165) This invention relates to apparatus for holding a p111- rality of bags and automatically feeding the bags held by said apparatus to a predetermined position. More particularly this invention relates to a bag magazine for holding a plurality of bags and feeding the foremost bag in the apparatus to a predetermined location, said magazine having appropriate adjustments to make said magazine readily useable for holding and feeding bags of any one of a large number of different sizes.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved bag magazine that may be easily loaded with bags while the unit is still running. It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved bag magazine that is adjustable for retaining and feeding bags of various heights and widths. t is a still further object of this invention to provide a new and improved bag magazine having mechanism for properly aligning a plurality of bags on the bag magazine once the bags have been loaded on said magazine.

It is another object of this invention to provide in a bag magazine, new and improved feed assemblies that are readily adjustable to vary the rate of feed of bags by said bag magazines and that may be readily adjusted to feed bags of different sizes. It is still another object of this invention to provide new and improved mechanism in a bag magazine for driving the side belts and the bottom belts of said magazine wherein the drive for each of the aforementioned types of belts are separately adjustable to vary the amount of movement of said belts per cycle of operation.

Other and further objects of the invention are those inherent in the invention herein illustrated, described in the claims, and will be apparent as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, this invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the description setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

The invention is illustrated by reference to the drawings in which corresponding numerals refer to the same parts and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the bag magazine of this invention and a portion of an automatic bag feeding machine, the portion of the side panel of the bag magazine being broken away to illustrate portions of the bag support and the side and bottom belt drive mechanisms;

FIGURE 2 is a top sectional view of the bag magazine illustrated in FIGURE 1, the top portion of the side panels being broken away to illustrate the side belts and the bag support and conveyor elevation adjustment;

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the bag magazine, said view illustrating mechanism that permits the magazine to be adjusted to hold bags of different widths and structure for varying the elevation of the bag support and conveyor assembly;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical side sectional view taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 44 of FIGURE 2 to more clearly illustrate the drive of the bottom belts and the apparatus for adjustably varying the elevation of the bag support and conveyor assembly; 1

, FIGURE 5 is a rear vertical sectional view taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 5- -5 of FIGURE 1 to more clearly illustrate the apparatus for adj'ustably varying the positions of the side assemblies relative to one another and to illustrate the mechanism for aligning bags held by the bag magazine;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the mechanism for adjustably positioning a side assembly on the bag magazine in order to vary the transverse distance between the side assemblies, said View being taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrow 66 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is ari enlarged vertical view of the side belt drive mechanism, said view being taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 77 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary top view, part being shown in section, of the mounting of the pusher slats on the drive chain, said view generally being taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 8-8 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary View of the side belt drive linkages between the two side assemblies and part of the control mechanism for actuating the bottom and side belt drives, said view being generally taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 9-9 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 10 is a top sectional view of a gear box and the mechanism located therein, said view being generally taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrows 10- '10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE l1 is a fragmentary top view of one of the side assemblies and a gear box mounted thereon to illustrate the mounting of the front and rear side guides, and the center bag guide, the side belt assembly i earwardly of the front side guide not being illustrated. The View is generally taken along the line and looking in the direction of the arrow 11 11 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 12 is a schematic illustration of the air and electric circuitry of the bagmagazine of this invention.

FIGURE 12A schematically illustrates the valve position of the four way master control valve for actuating the drive pistons to advance the drive belts;

FIGURE 12B schematically illustrates the valve posi-' tion of the four way master control valve for retracting the drivepistons. 7

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the mounting of a rear side guide, the rear guide being shown in dotted lines in position to roughly align a plurality of g FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary view of a side belt drive piston cylinder combination, part of said view being shown in section to illustrate a second embodiment of apparatus to adjust the piston stroke to a desired length. N

FIGURE 15 is a front view of the overrunning clutch illustrated inFIGURE 3 to show more details of the clutch and a fragmentary view of the structure that drives and is driven by said clutch.

Referring in particular to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is illustrated the bag magazine of thisinvention, generally designated 10, for automatically feeding a bag 9 to the feed line F 'F where the bag may be picked up by, for example, the bag pick-up arm assembly 13 of the automatic bag feeding machine, generally designated 11, such as described in our copending application, Ser; No. 806,955, filed April 16, 1959. After the bag has been fed to the aforementioned feed line and picked up by the bag pick-up arm assembly 13, other operations may be performed on a bag such as using a bag opening arm assembly 14 in conjunction with the assembly 13 to open a bag prior to its being positioned on a hopper (not shown) by the bag lift assembly 12 (partially illustrated). The bag magazine includes a right side assembly 21, a left side assembly 22, a base 23 which may be secured to the floor or foundation by conventional means (not shown), a bag support and conveyor assembly 25, and appropriate air and electrical controls for the aforementioned structure. Each of the side assemblies are generally of the same construction, except that one is a lefthand assembly and the other is a righthand assembly and other differences which will be noted hereinafter. Therefore, for the most part, only one of the side assemblies will be described.

The right hand assembly includes a side frame 28 having a side panel 35 secured thereto by screws 36. The side frame 28 includes a pair of spaced parallel uprights 29, 30, a top frame member 31, and an intermediate frame member 37 joined together to form a frame portion 40 (similar to that shown in FIGURE 4) each of the uprights and the frame members being made of a channel iron. A plurality of spaced vertical braces 32, 33, and 34 are secured at one end to the frame member 37 in depending relation thereto. A bottom brace 38 is secured to the respective bottom ends of the braces 32, 33, while bottom brace 39 is secured to-the upright and brace 34.

The left hand side assembly includes a side frame 28 having a frame portion '40 of the construction above described, a plurality of spaced vertical braces 33, 34 secured at one end to the framemember 37 in depending relation thereto, and a bottom brace 39 secured to the lower ends of upright 30 and brace 34 (see FIGURE 4). A side panel is secured to the rear portion of frame portion 40' by screws 36. Secured by screws 36 to members 34, 39 and 30 of the left hand assembly immediately below panel 35B is a panel 35C. Also secured by screws 36 to the front lower portion of frame 28 is a panel 35D.

Mounted in each of the rectangular frame portions is a side conveyor assembly 26, said side conveyor assembly including a front vertical drive shaft 43 having an upper end journalled for rotation in bearing 44 which is mounted on the top frame member 31 and a lower end-journalled for rotation in bearing 46 which is mounted intermediate the frame member. Each of the bearings 44, 46 are mounted adjacent to the upright 29.

A rear vertical shaft 48 is mounted adjacent to the upright 30, said shaft being mounted on the frame members 31 and 37 respectively. Intermediate the drive shaft and the shaft 48, an idler shaft 47 is journalled for rotation in the top and bottom bearings 44, 46 which are mounted on frame members 31 and 37 respectively, said idler shaft being mounted more closely adjacent shaft '43 than shaft 48. A pair of sprockets 56 is keyed in spaced relation on both the drive shaft and idler shaft respectively and rotatably mounted in spaced relation on the shaft 48. A chain 49 drivingly connects the top set ofsprockets 56 while a second chain 49 drivingly connects the lower set of sprockets. -To each of the top frame and intermediate frame members forwardly of the shaft 48, there is secured a block 65. A bolt 66 is rotatably mounted in the upright 30 to have the threaded portion 66A threaded through an aperture in the bottom of the shaft 48 and to have one end rotatably secured in the block 65. A second bolt 66 (not shown) is likewise mounted and threaded through the top end of the shaft 48. The bolts 66 and the mounting thereof form means for supporting the shaft 48' and adjustably tensioning a side belt since by turning both bolts in one direction, the shaft 48 will be moved in a longitudinal direction.

A plurality of vertically extending pusher slats 65, each having a blade 54 and a rectangular plate 52 formed integral with the blade to extend at right angles to said blade, are secured at the top to the top chain by a bracket 50 that forms a side piece in the top chain (see FIGURE 8) and at the bottom to the bottom chain by a second bracket 50. Each of the rectangular plates are secured to the aforementioned brackets by rivets 59A so that for the most part the rectangular plates extend parallel to the adjacent portions of the chains. The pusher slats mounted on the top and bottom chains in combination with the chains will be referred to as a side belt 57.

Each bracket 50 is secured to a plate adjacent the juncture of the blade with a plate and is of a length that is substantially smaller than the width dimension 'X of the plate. A sufficient number of plates are secured to the chains so that the leading edge 52A of one plate is within close proximation of the trailing edge 52B of the adjacent plate. The width X of each of the plates is preferably of a dimension, for example, slightly greater than the thickness of a bundle of 25 bags. When the blade members are extending at generally right angles to the aforementioned chains, a pusher slat and the blade of the pusher slat adjacent to the trailing edge of the aforementioned pusher slat form a pocket indicated by bracket 8.

Hingedly secured by a hinge 59 to the inner flange portion of each intermediate frame member 37 is a J- shaped rear side guide 6%, the long leg of the J being secured to said hinge (see FIGURES 5 and ll). The rear guide normally extends in a downwardly vertical direction relative to the member 37; however, when the guide is moved to a generally horizontal position, the guide extends transversely inwardly of the adjacent plates.

Mounted on the web portion 31a of the top frame member to extend inwardly therefrom is an elongated front side guide 62 which is generally J-shaped in cross section (see FIGURE 11). The front guide has a plurality of transverse slots 63 formed in the long leg of the J which in conjunction with the screws 64 extended through the slots and threaded into the web 31a forms means for adjustably positioning said guide relative to the frame member. The side guide has a vertically extending web portion 620: that along its longitudinal length is shaped to have a converging portion 628 and a straight portion 62C relative to the opposite side assembly. The purpose of shaping the guide in the aforementioned manner Will become clear hereinafter. 'The front guide is of a length to extend from the front end of the magazine to approximately the mid-portion of the magazine.

Each side assembly includes a longitudinally extending center bag guide 58 having a vertically extending web portion attached to a pair of center guide supports 61 (only one shown) which are in turn retained in an adjusted position in bosses 61A by set screws (not shown). The bosses are mounted on the respective intermediate frame member and the supports are set so that the center bag guide web portions are located in substantially the same plane as the corresponding web portion 623. The guide 58 has a converging web portion 58A that is provided for the same reason that the front guide 62 is provided with a converging portion.

Each of the side assemblies is secured to a slide bracket by bolts 71 which are extended through opposite side flanges 78A of said bracket and are secured to the respective vertical braces 33, 34 (see FIGURES 2, 4 and 6). Each slide bracket in turn is slideably secured to the top plate 73' of the base 23 by structure set forth hereinafter.

Base 23 includes four channel iron members 76 joined together to form a rectangular frame 72 and a top plate 73 mounted on said frame. A transversely extending key 75 is secured to the top plate by screws 69. Each slide bracket is slideably secured to an opposite transverse end portion of the aforementioned top plate by four bolts 77 which are extended through apertures located in the corner portions of the slide bracket, thence through the elongated transverse slots 79 formed in the top plate, and secured in the pair of spaced transversely extending adjustable base clamps 68 to hold said base clamps in slideable engagement with the bottom of the top plate. Each of the aforementioned bolts 77 extends through an offset 703 formed on the opposite transverse bottom edge portions of the slide bracket for spacing the remaining portion of the bracket above plate 73. A rectangular keyway 81 is formed in the central transverse oifset 70C of the slide bracket to form a matching fit with the key 75.

Formed on the outer end of right offset 76C above the aforementioned keyWay is a split clamp bracket 85 having a transverse aperture 86 formed therein. A clamp bolt 87 is extended through the vertical aperture formed in the upper split section 85a of the aforementioned clamp and is threaded into the lower split section 855. A clamp bracket 84 of the same general construction as bracket 85 is formed above the left offset.

An adjustment nut 91 which is internally threaded in one direction is mounted in the transverse aperture of one of the clamp brackets while an adjustment nut 92 of the same construction, except that it faces the opposite direction, is mounted in the clamp bracket 84. A transverse shaft 90 having one end portion threaded to correspond with the threads in the adjustment nut in the lefthand side is threaded into said adjustment nut While the opposite end portion of said shaft, which has oppositely pitched threads, is threaded into the adjustment nut 91 on the righthand side. A hand wheel 97 is mounted on the end of the extension 94 which is joined to one end of the shaft. An upright bracket 96 is secured at one end to a channel iron 76 by bolts 93 and has at the other end an aperture through which the extension 94 passes. The upright is abuttingly engaged in one side by a thrust washer 99 mounted on the extension and on the opposite side by the handwheel 97.

By turning the handwheel 97 in the appropriate direction, the side assemblies are translated towards the longitudinal axis L'L or away from said axis. By first loosening the clamp bolt 87 of one of the split clamps and then turning the adjustment nut therein, only the adjacent side assembly will be translated relative to the longitudinal axis.

Mounted to overlay the base 23 and to extend the longitudinal length of the side assemblies intermediate said side assemblies is a bottom bag support and conveyor assembly 25. (See FIGURES l-S.) The support assembly 25 includes a clamp bracket which has a vertically split sleeve 101 positioned outwardly from the base 23 by a modified T-bracket portion 105, the cross bar 106 of said T-bracket being secured to the rear channel iron 76 by bolts 103. A clamp bolt 107 is extended through one aperture formed in one of the sleeve offsets 102 and threaded into the other sleeve offset, there being an offset formed integral with each of the half sections of the aforementioned split sleeve.

Secured to the front channel iron 76 by a plurality of bolts 109 are two horizontally spaced mounting brackets 99, said brackets in turn rotatably mounting the crank shaft 110. A crank arm 111 is keyed to the outer end of the crank shaft. Keyed to the opposite end of the shaft intermediate the side assemblies is the sleeve 113 which forms the web of the 'U-shaped bracket 122, said bracket having the legs 114 extending outwardly from the shaft at a different radial angle than the crank arm.

Mounted in the outer end of each of the U-bracket legs 114 is an outwardly extending stud 118 which underlies one of the depending flanges 116 of the bag support 115 said support being U-shaped in transverse cross section. A bearing block 123 is secured to the front portion of each of the flanges 116 for journalling the transversely extending drive shaft 117 forwardly of the studs 118 (see FIGURE 5). A drive sheave 121 of a diameter to extend to a higher elevation than the bag support 115 is keyed on each of the outer ends of the drive shaft 117. Keyed to the drive shaft intermediate the depending flange at 1210 is the inner race 12121 of the overrunning clutch 125 (FIGURE-S 3, 4 and Rotatably located on the drive shaft and keyed at 1210 to the outer race 12151 of said clutch is the clutch arm 126, the outer race driving the inner race in the direction of arrow 127 but not in the opposite direction. The purpose of providing the overrunning clutch and clutch arm will become apparent hereinafter.

Secured to the front end of the bag support is a bag step The bag stop is preferably formed with a longitudinally extending flange having an elongated slot formed therein so that it may be secured to the bag support in a longitudinally adjusted position by a screw extended through said slot and threaded into said bag support.

The rearward end of the bag support includes a transverse bag support shaft 128 secured at either end in the flange portions 116. Rotata bly mounted on the shaft 128 intermediate the flanges is a sleeve 13%. One end of the radially extending elevating shaft 129 is secured to the mid portion of the sleeve 130. The elevating shaft is retained at the desired elevation by positioning said shaft in the support clamp sleeve 101 and tightening the clamp bolt 14%. The clamp bracket 110 and the elevating shaft form means for adjustably varying the elevation of the rear portion of the bag support.

The two [radially extending studs 124 are secured in diametrically opposite sides of the internally threaded collar 123 and are pivotally secured in the outer clevised end of the crank arm (see FIGURE 2). The forward end 139A of the longitudinal extending shaft 139 has threads that form a matching fit with the internally threaded collar. As a result, when the shaft is rotated relative to the collar, the collar moves axially on the shaft relative to said shaft. A cotter key 140 is provided in the forward end of the shaft to prevent the shaft from being turned out of the collar.

A collar M1 is pivotally mounted in the upper clevised end of the support bracket 143, there being a pair of radially extending studs 142 secured -to diametrically opposite sides of the collar and retained in said clevised end. The support bracket 143 extends downwardly and inwardly from said clevised end to be secured to the outer end of the base 23 by bolts 144.

The forward end of an elongated tube 14-7 is fixedly secured in the collar 141. A bearing (not shown) is also mounted in the collar and a second bearing (not shown) is mounted in the rear end of the tube. The shaft 139 extends through :the aforementioned tube and is journall'ed for rotation in the aforementioned bearings (not shown). The shafts extends rearwardly of the tube a sufficient distance to have the hand wheel 1-48 keyed thereto, said handwheel having a hub 148A that bears against the rear end of the tube. As a result of the aforementioned mounting of the shaft, the shaft is prevented from moving in a longitudinal direction while at the same time being free to pivot about the pivot axis of studs 142. By rotating the hand Wheel in the proper direction, the collar 123 is moved rearwardly along shaft 139 (arrow 151). Since the collar 123 is pivotally mounted in the outer end of the crank arm, as the collar 123 moves axially along the shaft, the crank arm is rotated in the direction of arrow 156) about the crank shaft and in turn rotates the crank shaft to rotate the U bracket in the same direction. As the U-shaped bracket is rotated in the direction of the arrow 150, thestuds 1 18 move rearward-1y in sliding engagement with the forward end of the bag support to elevate said forward end, it being understood that the maximum elevation of the bag support is obtained when the legs of the U-shaped bracket extend directly upward from the crank shaft. The rear end of the bag support may now be set at the proper elevation by loosening the clamp 'bol-t 197, and then moving the rear end of the bag support to the desired elevation and finally again tightening the clamp bolt 107.

An elongated horizontally extending slot 153 is formed in the rear portion of each of the bag support depending flanges. A stud bolt 155 is secured in an adjusted position in each flange along the length of the slot. Each 7 of the stud bolts extend outwardly from the adjacent flange to have rotatably mounted thereon a sheave 154, the sheaves being of a diameter to extend above the bag support.

Secured to each of the depending flanges at an elevation above the axis of rotation of the drive sheaves and slightly inwardly toward the central transverse axis TT from said rotational axis is a transversely extending belt support bar 157. A belt support bar 158 likewise is secured to each of the depending flanges to be located above and forwardly of the rotational axis of the sheaves 154. A horizontally extending belt guide 159 is mounted on the bag support to extend outwardly from each of the depending flanges to support the upper surfaces of the bottom belts 156 at a slightly higher elevation than the top surface of the bag support, each of said belts being extended around a drive sheave, then rearwarclly and over the top of the belt support bar 157, next rearwardly over the belt support bar .158, then around the sheave 154, thence forwardly over the top of the belt guide and in supporting engagement therewith to be extended around the drive sheave. Each of the belt guides has a depending flange which is secured to the bag support depending flange by conventional means such as bolts 16-0.

The mechanism for driving the bottom belts 156 iricludes the previously described drive shaft 117, drive sheaves 121, the overrunning clutch 125, and the clutch arm 126 (see FIGURE 4). The clevis end of the piston rod 162 is pivotally connected by pivot 163 to the outer end of the clutch arm. The opposite end of the piston rod is connected to a piston (not shown) located in the two-way acting cylinder 164, said cylinder in turn having a clevis end 165 pivotally connected by a pivot 166 to a pivot bracket 167. The pivot bracket is secured to the bottom of the bag support. A bellows 168 is mounted on the piston rod and has one end thereof secured to the cylinder and the opposite end secured to the clevis end of the piston rod. Ports 303, 309 are fluidly connected to respective opposite ends of the cylinder 164- to provide for two-way actuation of the piston contained there- The mechanism for driving the side belts includes the right front shaft extension 42 having the overrunning clutch 53 mounted thereon (see FIGURES 1 and 7). A radially extending clutch arm 175 is rotatably mounted on the shaft extension in driving engagement with the outer race of the clutch which in turn drives the inner race of said clutch in only one direction. The outer end of the clutch arm is pivotally connected in the clevis end of the clevis member 176 by a pivot member 182. The opposite end of the clevis member is threaded onto the outer end of the piston rod 177 to adjustably vary the effective length of said rod, the other end of the piston rod being connected to a piston 178B located in cylinder 178. The far end of the cylinder has 'a clevised bracket 179 connected thereto. A pivot bracket 180 is secured to the vertical brace 33 and at the other end is pivotally secured in the clevised end of the clevis member 179 by the pivot 181.

An elongated switch support bracket 185 is bolted by cap screws 192 to each of the cylinder end blocks 178A to depend therefrom (see FIGURE 7). The support bracket has a spaced pair of depending ears 187, 188 that lie generally in a plane that passes parallel to the central axis of the cylinder 178. A return limit switch 189 is secured to the front ear 187 by cap screws 191 while the forward limit switch 190 is similarly secured to the back ear 188, said back ear including a right angular vertically extending flange 193 formed integral therewith. An aperture 194 is formed in the flange 193 to have one end of the switch rod 195 slidably mounted therein, the opposite end of switch rod being pivotally secured to the lower end of the pivot bolt 182. The aperture 194 is located to have the switch rod extend parallel to the central axis of the cylinder 17 8.

Fixedly secured to the mid-portion of the switch rod is a transversely extending switch plate 200. Threadedly mounted in the lower end of the switch plate is cap screw 201 having a lock nut 202 mounted thereon for holding the 'cap screw in an adjusted position. The cap screw 201 extends rearwardly of the plate and is located in a position for engaging the push button 2030f the forward drive limit switch when the piston is retracted in the cylinder 178. The cap screw and lock nut 201, 202 pro vide means for adjustably setting the rearward limit of the piston stroke.

Threadedly mounted in the switch plate at a higher elevation than the cap screw 201 is a cap screw 206. The lock nut 207 is provided for holding the cap screw 206 in an adjusted position, said cap screw being mounted to engage the push button 208 of the return limit switch 189 at the forward end of the piston stroke. The lock nut 207 and cap screw 206 form means for adjustably setting the forward limit of the piston stroke.

Threadedly mounted in the block 178A of the cylinder 178 to extend into the interior of the cylinder 178 to be abuttingly engaged by the piston 17813 and forming a stop to prevent further retracting movement of the piston is a cap screw 198. As will be more apparent hereinafter, by turning the cap screw 198 the length of the piston stroke and thereby the rate of forward feed of the bags may be varied any desired increment. A lock nut 199 is provided for retaining the cap screw in a set position. When the setting of cap screw 198 is changed, the setting of cap screw 201 is accordingly changed so that limit switch 190 is actuated at the retracted end of the piston stroke.

A second embodiment of a side belt drive pistoncylinder combination, generally designated 171 (see FIG- URE 14) includes a cylinder 172 having a back end block 172A. A variable length spacer 173 is mounted within the cylinder in abutting engagement with the block 172A, said spacer forming a stop to limit the rearward movement of the piston 174 in said cylinder. In the event it is desired to change the length of piston stroke, a spacer of a diiferent axial length may be used in place of the original spacer mounted in the cylinder.

Secured to the respective front web portions of the frame member 31 by bolts 217 is a righthand gear box 211 and a lefthand gear box 212 (see FIGURES 3, 9, and 10). Since the structure of each of the gear boxes is substantially identical except that one is a righthand gear box and the other is a lefthand gear box, for the most part only gear box 211 will be described. The drive shaft 43 extends upwardly through apertures formed in the web of the frame'member and the bottom of the gear box and is journalled for rotation in the collar member 215 which is secured at its upper end to the lower end of the transverse partition 216 located in the gear box. A beveled gear 226 is keyed to the shaft 43 above the aforementioned collar. A beveled gear 225 is secured on the transversely extending stud shaft 219 in driving engagement with the beveled gear 226 by a set screw 227, said stud shaft being jo-urnalled for rotation in the bearing members 222, 223 which are mounted in the gear box side walls 228, 213, respectively.

Fixedly secured to the inner end of the respective shafts is one end of a universal joint 2'29, 230. The opposite end of the universal joint 230 is fixedly connected to a splined shaft 232 which in turn is slidably retained within one end of the splined sleeve 233. The opposite end of the splined sleeve 233 is fixedly secured to the opposite end of the universal joint 229. A bellows 231 is mounted to have one end fixedly secured to the universal joint 230 and to have the opposite end thereof fixedly clamped onto the splined sleeve. The aforementioned universal joints, stud shafts, sleeve, shaft and beveled gearing form a driving connection between the right hand drive shaft and the left hand drive shaft for driving the side belts in synchronism.

The outer end of the tube 236 is secured to the front wall 244 of the gear box 212 by a bracket member 235.

The inner end of the tube 236 is slidably mounted in the inner end of the tube 237, the opposite end of tube 237 being secured to the front wall of the gear box by a bnacket member 235. The aforementioned tubes 236, 237 are mounted at an elevation slightly below the top elevation of the bag 9 when the bag support is positioned at the proper elevation.

Secured to each of the uprights 29' is a transversely inwardly extending panel 249 having a rearwardly extending flange 24-1 formed integrally therewith. Each of the flanges 241 is spaced transversely outwardly from the adjacent frame member a smaller distance than the transverse width of a blade 54. The elevation of the lower edge of each of the panels 249 is higher than the top of the bag support at its most elevated position so as to provide space for the outwardly extending bag bottom closure strip 9A to project into.

A generally U-shaped bag retainer member 242 is secured to each of the panel members to have the web portions 242A thereof extend transversely inwardly from the adjacent front panel. The legs 242B of the retainer member are secured to the front panel by brackets 243. The web portions 242A, the vertical extending portion of the stop 128 and the tubes 236, 237 each have a back surface that substantially lies in the plane of the feed line FF.

Pivotally mounted in the rectangular slots 245 formed in the inner edge of the front panels to extend transversely inwardly therefrom are the outer ends 250A of the bag feeler arms 258 of the bag feeler switches 330, 332.

Each outer end 2541A is connected by a vertical offset 25513 to one end of a transversely extending horizontal portion 250C of a bag feeler arm. The opposite end of a horizontal portion is keyed to the lower end of a pivot bolt 251. Each pivot bolt extends upwardly through a frame member 31 and a collar 252 which is secured tothe front wall 244 of a gear box. The upper end of each pivot bolt has a switch actuator 258 keyed thereto.

The switch actuator includes a radially extending spring arm 253 that extends inwardly from the pivot bolt in the same direction as the horizontal portion of the bag feeler arm. One end of the spring 254 is connected to the outer end of the spring arm and the opposite end is secured to the head end of the transversely extending cap screw 255. The cap screw in turn is threaded into the offset 257 and locked in an adjusted position by a lock nut 255, said offset being formed integral with the partition 216 to extend at right angles thereto.

The switch actuator 258 also includes an arm 260 extending radially outwardly from the pivot bolt 251 on the opposite side thereof from the spring arm. A longitudinally extending cap screw 261 is threaded into the outer end of the arm 268 and is locked in an adjusted position by a lock nut 262. A micro-switch 264 is positioned outwardly from the opposite side of the offset 257 from the cap screw 255 by a spacer 265, said spacer and microswitch being secured to the offset by screws 266. The micro-switch has a push button 263 resiliently urged to an open position, said push button being located in a position to be engaged by the head end of the cap screw 261 for moving said push button to a closed position.

The air circuitry, generally designated 275, includes an air supply 276 connected by line 277 to the first port of the solenoid operated four-way master control valve 280 (see FIGURE 12A) The second port of the control valve is connected by line 286 to a fluid junction 288 located in the air manifold 287. The junction 288 is connected via line 298 to the forward port 331 of the forward pusher drive cylinder 178. The rear port 380, which is located on the opposite end of the cylinder, is connected via line 299 to the junction 289 which is also located in the airmanifold. A line 306 also connects junction 288 to the forward port 388 of the bottom belt drive cylinder 164-. The rear port 369 of the cylinder 164 is connected by line 397 to the junction 289 which in turn is connected via 1@ line 316 to the third port of the master control valve. The fourth port of the master control valve is connected via line 311 to the air exhaust 312.

Referring to FIGURE 12, the electric circuitry, generally designated 315, for controlling the operation of the master control valve include-s main lines L1, L2 which are connected to one end to a power supply unit (not shown). The opposite end of the main line L1 is connected to junction 316 which in turn is connected via line 317 to the terminal 318 of the bag feeder switch 330 located in the gear box 212. The normally open push button 331 is connected to the terminal 318 to engage contact 319 when said push button is moved to a closed position. The contact 319 is connected to terminal 320 which in turn is connected via line 321 to the junction 322. The line 329 connects junction 322 to the terminal 328 of bag feeler switch 332 which is located in the gear box 211, said terminal being connected to contact 327. Connected to the terminal 326 of the switch 332 is a normally open push button 263 which is mounted to engage the switch contact 327. The terminal 326 in turn is connected via line 325 to junction 316. The aforegoing electrical connections connect the bag feeler switch 332 in parallel with the bag feeler switch 330.

Junction 322 is connected via line 336 to the terminal 337 of the return limit switch 190. The push button 203, which is resiliently urged to an open position, is connected to the terminal 340 to engage the contact 338 which is connected to the terminal 337. Terminal 337 is connected to the terminal 345 of the forward drive switch 189 by line 341. The terminal 346 is connected to push button 208 which is mounted to engage contact 344 which in turn is connected to the terminal 345, said push button being resiliently urged to an open position.

The main line L2 is connected to a terminal 347. The solenoid coil 350 of the master control valve is connected across terminals 340, 347 while the solenoid coil 351 is connected across terminals 346 and 347. When the solenoid coil 351 is energized, the valve member in the master control valve is moved to make the fluid connections illustrated in FIGURE 123 for applying air through ports 301, 308 of cylinders 178, 164 respectively, and to remain in the aforementioned position until the solenoid coil 350 is energized. When the solenoid coil 350 is energized, the valve member moves to a position to make the fluid connections illustrated in FIGURE 12A and to remain in that position until the solenoid coil 351 is again energized. By providing a valve member which remains in a given position until the appropriate solenoid coil is energized to move said member to a second position, even though the bag magazine is stopped with the switch plate 260 and cap screws thereon located intermediate the positions for pushing one of the other of the push buttons of the limit switches 189, 199 to a closed position, upon starting the bag magazine, either the line 286 or 310 is fluidly connected to the air supply and as a result the piston rods and pistons of each of the cylinders will be moved to bring one of the cap screws mounted on the plate 200 into engagement with the appropriate push button.

It is usually desirable to connect the main line leads L1, L2 to a master control switch which also controls the operation of the automatic bag feeding mechanism with which the bag magazine is used. Further it is preferable to provide appropriate switch in the main line circuit that will turn off the bag magazine in the event that the pick up arm assembly does not pick up the bag.

The structure of the bag magazine of this invention having been described, a brief operation thereof will now be set forth. For purposes of facilitating the description of the operation, it will be assumed that the bag support a n and conveyor assembly 25 1s at a lower elevation and the side assemblies are transversely spaced apart a greater distance than desired for properly holding the size of bags being fed to the automatic bag feeding machine. In order 1 l to elevate the forward end of the bag support assembly, the hand wheel 148 is turned in the direction to move collar 123 along shaft 139 in the direction of the arrow 151 and thereby cause the crank arm, the crank shaft, and the -'U-shaped bracket to rotate in the direction of the arrow 159 to elevate the front end of the bag support and conveyor assembly. To elevate the rear end of the assembly, the clamp bolt 197 is loosened and the elevating shaft is raised to a height to position the rear end of the bag support at the same elevation as the forward end and then the bolt as again tightened. When the bag support and conveyor assembly have been adjusted to the proper height, the bags 9 on the support surface extend to a slightly higher elevation than that of the bag retaining tubes 236, 237. Now the stop 12% is adjustably positioned on the bag support so that the vertical surface thereof "will be located in substantially the same plane as the surface of the U-shaped bag retainer webs 242A and the bag retaining tubes 236, 237.

In order to properly position the side assemblies, the hand Wheel 97 is turned in an appropriate direction to move said side assemblies inwardly towards the longitudinal axis LL until the transverse distance between the straight line portions 62B is only slightly greater than the width W of the bags 9 being fed by the bag magazine. In the event only one of the said assemblies is to be moved relative to the longitudinal axis LL, the appropriate clamp bolt 87 is loosened and then the appropriate adjustments are made as have been described heretofore.

Independent drives (which are made up of an air cylinder, an overrunning clutch, and associated members) control the side belts and bottom belts and are simultaneously driven in the same direction since they are operated from the same solenoid control valve. As a result even though the side assemblies and/ or the bag support assembly is set in a different position, the drives do not have to be readjusted to advance the respective belts the previously set increment of forward motion since the drives are carried by the respective assemblies.

When a smaller width bag is to be fed by the bag magazine, side guides 62 are positioned inwardly a greater distance relative to the respective frame member 31 than if a larger width bag is to be fed by the bag magazine. As a result a greater width portion of a larger bag is supported to have a forward force applied thereto than in the case of a smaller bag.

It is to be noted that preferably the air manifold is mounted on one of the side assemblies, and that the lines connecting said manifold to the respective drive cylinders are of suflicient length and made of flexible material so as not to interfere with readily adjusting the side assemblies and the bag support and conveyor assemblies and the bag support and conveyor assembly for the size of bags being fed. Once the side assemblies and the bag support conveyor mechanism are properly adjusted, the bag magazine is ready for operation and a workman may stack bags onto the back end of the bag magazine, said magazine in turn will then automatically move the bags to feed lines F-F once the magazine control circuits have been energized. It is to be noted that since each increment of movement of the belts is usually -6 bag thicknesses and the pusher slats at the back end of the magazine are spread apart so'that a workman may easily place a lot of bags on the magazine when the magazine is advancing bags with no danger of the workman being injured.

In theevent that there are no bags at the forward end of the magazine, the spring 254 will have pivoted the actuator 258 about the pivot shaft 251 in the direction of the arrow 356 to move the cap screw 261 out of engagement with the push button 263 and thereby permit the normally closed push button 263 to move to a closed position. Push button 331 similarly is moved to a closed positionif bags 9 do not exert suflicient pressure against the bag feeler arm on the left side assembly to offset the spring tension. As a result of either pushbutton 33 1, or

1.2 pushbutton 263 or both pushbuttons moving to a closed position, an electrical connection is established from junction 316 through junction 322 to junctions 337, 345.

Now for purposes of explanation, assume that when the magazine was stopped, the last solenoid coil to be energized was coil 351. As soon as the air supply is turned on to supply air to line 277, air will be supplied through line 286 to port 301 of cylinder 17% and port 398 of cylinder 164. By applying air through the ports 301, 308 the respective pistons are moved to a retracted position which will cause the overrunning clutches to rotate the respective shafts in the direction of arrows 358, 127 respectively to drive the side belts and the bottom belt in a forward direction (arrow 355). At the same time as the piston rod 177 is retracted (arrow 360) the switch rod and connector plate 2% mounted thereon are moved in the sme direction. The aforementioned movement of the plate 20% brings the head end of the cap screw 291 into engagement with the push button 2&3 to move it to a closed position to make contact with the terminal 338 and thereby energize solenoid coil 35%. Energizing solenoid coil 350 will cause the valve member to be moved to the position to make the fluid connections illustrated in FIGURE 12A whereby the air supply 27a is fluidly connected through junction 2.89 to the port 3% of cylinder 178 md port 3%? of cylinder 164. As a result the piston rods 177 162 are moved in an outward direction (arrow 359) and thereby cause the clutch arms 126, to rotate on the respective shafts. However, the aforementioned rotational movement of the clutch arms does not rotate shafts 42, 117 since the clutch arms through the overrunning clutch outer races only drivingly engage the overrunning clutch inner races to rotate the shaft in the direction or" the arrows 358, 127 respectively. As a result of the clutch arm 175 being rotated in the direction opposite the arrow 358, the cap screw 291 is moved out of engagement with the push button 263 whereupon the electrical connection between terminals 337 and 340 is broken and coil 35! is de-energized. But, since the valve member remains in position, the piston rod continues to move outwardly until it engages push button 32:: and moves it to a closed position to electrically connect terminals 345, 346 and thereby energizes solenoid coil 3521. Upon energizing solenoid coil 351, the valve member is moved to again make the fluid connections as illustrated in FIGURE 123.

As may be apparent from the aforegoing description, the length of the piston stroke and thereby the increment of forward feed of the bags is controlled by properly threading the cap screw 19% into the cylinder 178. That is, the amount of forward movement of the side and bottom belts per cycle may be readily adjusted to the desired increment of forward movement. Usually it is found desirable to set the length of the piston strokes so that the bottom and side belts are moved to advance said belts about five or six bag thicknesses per cycle of operation of the pistons.

Occasionally it may be desirable to have the amount of forward movement of the side belts per cycle different than the corresponding movement of the bottom belts. In such an event a cap screw may be mounted in the cylinder 164 in the same manner as cap screw 198 is mounted in cylinder 17:; and the length of piston stroke accordingly adjusted.

The bags are automatically inched forward by the operation of the cylinders 164, 178 and associated mechanism moving the bottom and side belts in the forward direction (arrow 355). The forwardmost bag abutting against the outer ends of the feeler arms 250 will force the feeler arms to rotate in a direction (right arm in the direction of arrow 362, FIGURE 10) against the spring tension of spring 254. The continuing advancement of the bags will cause the feeler arms to rotate a suficient amount to move the cap screw 261 into engagement with the push button 253 to move said push button to an open position. Likewise the left feeler arm will move the push button 331 to an open position. At this point it is to be noted that a 13 circuit is provided for alternately energizing the solenoid coils 350, 351 as long as one of the feeler arms does not have sufficient bag pressure exerted thereon to open the push button (263, 331) control thereby. As soon as both of the push buttons 331, 2- 3 have been moved to an open position, the circuit for energizing coils 350, 351 is opened and air will thereafter be continuously applied to one side of the cylinders 164, 178 until at least one of the bag feeler switch push buttons is permitted to move to a closed position due to the bag pressure against the bag feeler am being less than the effective spring tension of spring 254 on said arm. The two bag feeler switches are provided, one on either transverse side of the bag, since in the event both sides of the bags are not advanced evenly, one bag feeler switch will be open and the cylinders will continue to operate to advance the belts.

The back surface of the outer ends 250A of the bag feeler arms are located in the same plane as the back surface of the tubes 236, 237 when said arms have moved the pushbuttons of the bag feeler switches to a closed position. Providing a bag feeler switch on either side assembly insures that the bags are maintained flat and compressed at the feed line. It has been found that if only a switch is provided on one side assembly there is present the problem that after a few bags have been removed from the feed line end of the magazine, a loose bag or bags will exert sufficient pressure against a bag feeler arm to close the respective switch and thus actuate the belt drives before the usual number of bags have been removed from the magazine. However by providing two bag feeler switches, one on each side assembly, this problem is over come since the second switch remains open until the bags in the magazines have been advanced to close the second switch, it being extremely infrequent that a loose bag would close both switches. With only one switch the operation of the belt drives is not as uniform as it is with two switches and, as a result the bags are not as uniformly kept under compression with one bag feeler switch.

It is to be noted that the bag pickup arm removing a bag from a bag magazine tends to force the bag feeler arm to rotate in a direction to move the respective cap screws 261 to hold the bag feeler switches in an open position. However, once a sufiicient number of bags have been removed from the forward end of the bag magazine, the pressure exerted by the remaining bags against the feeler arm 250 will be decreased and as a result the springs 254 rotate the switch actuators a sufiicient amount to permit one or both of the pushbuttons 263, 331 to move to a closed position to provide a circuit whereby the solenoid coils 350, 351 are alternately energized as previously described. Alternately en- .ergizing coils 350, 351 will apply air to the opposite sides of the cylinder piston 178, 164 until the bags on the magazine have been moved in a forward direction a sufiicient amount to build up the bag pressure against the bag feeler arms to move said arms to close both of the bag feeler switches.

The operator may place additional bags on the back end of the bag magazine as needed. Normally the bags come in bales of 100 with the open ends of each lot of being set in opposite directions. Since the longitudinal width of each pocket is the same size as the thickness of the 25 bags, it is convenient for the operator to pick up a lot of 25 and stack the lot on the magazine. Although it is desirable that a lot of bags be placed in each set of pockets (one pocket on each belt) right after the set of pockets has rounded shafts 48, it will become apparent hereinafter that the bag magazine will function properly even if some of the pockets that are being advanced are not filled. Each set of pock- 'ets will hold a lot of bags in an upright position and move a lot to the forward end of the bag magazine.

After one or more lots of bags have been positioned on the bag support and in the respective pockets, by rotating the side guides to a dotted line position as illustrated in FIGURE 13, means are provided for roughly aligning the bags at the rearward end of the magazine. The rear side guides are of a length to extend approximately one-half the length of the machine, the forward end of each rear side guide underlaying the back end portion of a front side guide. v 7

As may be noted by referring to FIGURE 2, each of the idler shafts is located more closely adjacent the longitudinal axis LL than the drive shaft 43. Thus the corresponding forward advancing pockets on each belt are spaced further apart at the front end of the magazine than at the portion of the magazine adjacent the idler shafts. The aforementioned spacing of the pockets permits the blades to start their withdrawal from between the bags prior to said blades being adjacent the drive shaft.

The blades start to retract from between the bags as soon as the respective blades are advanced past the vertical axis of the adjacent idler shafts. However, the greater part of the retracting movement of the blades occurs when the respective blades are adjacent the drive shafts. For example, in a bag magazine properly adjusted and having blades of approximately 3" in width, the drive shaft vertical axis approximately 5 /2" from the feed line, and the idler shaft 15" from the feed line, the major portion of the retracting movement of the blades starts to occur 8" to 10" from the feed line and is completed 6" from the feed line. As a result, the bags at the front end of the magazine are uniformly compressed. In the event that one set of advancing pockets had not been filled with bags, sufficient pressure would not be exerted against the feeler arms and as a result the magazine controls would keep the bag conveyor apparatus in operation until suflicient pressure by the bags was built up behind said feeler arms. Thus any gap in the bags on the magazine ahead of the idler shafts would be filled.

The wider separation of the pockets at the back end as they round the rear shafts of the magazine makes it easier for an operator to load a lot of bags in the support assembly without danger of injury as previously set forth. At the back end of the magazine the bags are loosely conveyed, however, by properly setting the front side guides 62 and the center bag guides 58 as the bags are advanced past said front and center side guides, the converging g ide portions 62C, 58A force the bags into alignment. The pusher slats at the front of the magazine in conjunction with the members 120, 242, 235, and 237 compress the bags located therebetween, the aforementioned structure holding the bags flat and compressed so that a single bag may be removed by the suction cup on the bag pickup assembly.

The tubes 23 6, 237 at the front of the magazine break the bag being removed by assembly 13 so that it will be properly positiojned to be grippingly engaged by assembly 14. That is if tubes 236, 237 were not provided and double gusset bags are being used, freequently the sidewalls of such a bag will pull apart as the bag is being removed from the magazine and as a result the second gusset will be caught by assembly 14 as it moves toward the longitudinal axis of the bag magazine. I-Iow ever by providing tubes 236, 237, the top of a bag being removed is momentarily held back with respect to the center portion of said bag and thus holds the gussets to gether.

As many widel y apparently different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the specific embodiments herein.

What we claim is:

1. In a bag magazine for advancing a group of bags from a loading station to a feed line whereat the bags are mechanically removed one at a time from said magazine, comprising a base, elongated bag support and conveyor means mounted on the base for advancing bags from said loading station to said feed line, said aforementioned means including at least one endless belt and means including a first drive shaft for rotatably mounting said endless belt, a single first two way acting piston cylinder combination having a piston rod, means for drivingly connecting said piston cylinder combination to the first drive shaft for rotating said shaft in only one direction, a fluid supply line connected to either end of said cylinder, pressurized fluid supply means, control valve means connected to the fluid supply means and to the opposite ends of the fluid supply lines for supplying fluid under pressure alternately to each of the supply lines, and control operator means for actuating the control valve means to supply fluid to the other supply line, said control operator means including a power supply, circuitry connecting said power supply to the valve means, and switch means connected in said circuitry for controlling the supply of power to the valve means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that bag feeder means is mounted on the conveyor means adjacent the feed line and is connected in said circuitry in series with the switch means for sensing an insufficient supply of bags adjacent the feed line, and alternately opening the circuitry connection when a sufficient supply of bags is located adjacent the feed line and closing a circuit connection when an insufficient supply of bags is ad jacent the feed line.

3. In a bag magazine for advancing a group of bags from a loading station to a feed line whereat the bags are mechanically removed one at a time from said magazine comprising a base, bag bottom support and conveyor means mounted on the base for conveying bags to said feed line, a side assembly mounted on either side of the bag support and conveyor means and extending above said conveyor means for aligning the bags as the bags are moved toward the feed line, means mounted on the side assemblies at the feed line for releasably retaining a bag at the feed line in position to be mechanically removed in a forward direction from the bag magazine, means for driving the conveyor means, and means for controlling the drive means, said control means including bag feeler meausfor alternately actuating the drive means to advance bags to be pressed against the retaining means and stopping the drive means, said retaining means including an elongated member for abuttingly engaging the front top portion of the foremost bag at the feed line.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further characterized in that there is provided means for slideably mounting the side assemblies in a transverse direction relative to the conveyor means and that the elongated member includes a pair of telescoped tubes having their outer ends attached to the respective side assemblies.

5. A bag magazine for advancing bags from a loading station to a feed line and having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, a pair of spaced, vertical, longitudinally extending side frames slidably mounted on said base for transverse adjustment, an endless side belt mounted on each of said side framesto extend generally the longitudinal length of the respective side frames, a longitudinally extending bag support conveyor assembly mounted intermediate the side frames, said assembly including a bag support and an endless bottom belt mounted on said bag support, means mounted on the base for adjustably varying the elevation of said bag support conveyor as-. sembly relative to the elevation of the side belts and the base and retaining said assembly in the adjusted position,

'foradvancing bags to the feed line, and means for driving the conveyor'means to advance the bags to the feed line, the first mentioned means including a longitudinally extending bag bottom support assembly mounted on the base, a side frame mounted on each transverse side of the bag bottom support assembly, and means mounted on the side frames and cooperating with the bag advancing means at the forward end thereof for releasably holding bags at the feed line under compression to be mechanically removed one at a time from the bag magazine, the last mentioned means including a bag top engaging member mounted at a lower elevation than the top edge of a bag positioned on the bag support.

7. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis for automatically advancing bags from a loading station to a feed line, comprising a base, and side and bottom conveyor means mounted on said base for conveying the bags from the loading station to said feed line, said bag conveyor means including a side frame on either transverse side of the longitudinal axis, elongating means for supporting the bottoms of the bags, means mounted on the base for adjustably varying the elevation of the elongated means relative to the base and retaining the elongated means in the adjusted position, the last mentioned means including a bracket having one end rotatably secured to the base and an opposite end in supporting engagement with the elongating means, a crank arm having one end connected to the rotatably mounted end of said bracket for rotating said bracket, means connected to the opposite end of the crank arm for moving said crank arm to rotate said bracket and thereby change the elevation of said elongated means, an elevating shaft pivotally secured to elongated means in horizontally spaced relation to said bracket and a clamp mounted on said base for holding said elevating shaft in various adjusted elevated positions and means for driving the bag support conveyor means to advance bags from the loading station to the feed line.

8. A bag magazine having longitudinally extending axis comprising a 'base, elongated longitudinally extending means mounted on said base for supporting the bags in an elevated position relative to said base, said bag support means including a bag support having a front end portion and a back end portion, a side frame mounted on either side of said bag support, means mounted on each of said side frames for retaining a group of bags in an upright position and moving the group of bags from said back end portion to said front end portion of the bag support, each of said last mentioned means including a first vertical shaft mounted on the frame adjacent to and rearwardly of said front end portion, a second vertical shaft mounted on said side frame adjacent said back end portion, an endless belt extending around each of said first and second shafts and means on each of said shafts for mounting said endless belt each on said shaft-s, said endless belts including spaced vertical blades mounted to extend transversely inwardly toward the opposite side frame on the inner run of the belt for abuttingly engaging at least a portion of the sidewalls of the adjacent bags, means connected to at least one shaft on each side frame for simultaneously driving said means on the side frames in synchronism, and means mounted on the bag support means at the forward end of the bag support to engage bag sidewalls for releasably retaining bags at the forward end of the bag support for forward withdrawal.

9. A bag magazine having a longitudinally extending axis comprising a base, elongated longitudinally extending means mounted on said base for supporting said bags in an elevated position relative to said base, said bag support means having a front end portion and a back end portion, a side frame mounted on either sideof said bag support, means mounted on each of said side frames for retaining a group of bags in an upright position and moving the group of bags from said back end portion to the front end portion of the bag support, means for simultaneously driving said means on the side frame in synchronism, and control means for alternately actuating the drive means to maintain a supply of bags to the forward end of the magazine and stopping said drive means upon the bags being moved to said forward end of the bag magazine, said control means including a bag feeler arm mounted oneach side frame to be engaged by the foremost bag on the bag magazine and circuit means operated by the feeler arms for permitting one feeler arm to actuate the drive means independent of the other bag feeler arm.

10. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis for automatically advancing bags from a loading station to a feed line comprising a base, means mounted on said base for supportingly conveying a plurality of bags toward the feed line, the aforementioned means including longitudinally extending means for supporting bags at the bottom portions in spaced relation to the base, a longitudinal side frame on either transverse side of the last mentioned means, and guide means mounted on each side frame at a higher elevation than the bag bottom support means and adjacent the loading station for roughly aligning the bags positioned on the bag bottom support means, each of said guide means including a side guide and means secured to the respective side frame for mounting the side guide for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis between a position in spaced relation to a plurality of bags and a second position in abutting engagement with said plurality of bags for forcing said bags into alignment, and means connected to the bag support conveyor means to drive said conveyor means to advance bags from the loading station to the feed line.

11. A bag magazine for advancing bags from a loading station to a feed line and having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, bag bottom support and conveyor means mounted on the base for conveying bags toward the feed line, a side frame mounted on either side of the bag bottom support means to extend vertically thereabove, an endless side belt on each side frame, first belt shaft means mounted on each side frame adjacent the feed line for having the front I'UH portion of the belt extended therearound, second belt shaft means mounted on each side frame adjacent the loading station for having the rear run portion of a belt extended therearound, said first belt shaft mounting means being mounted on the side frame for positioning the inner forward run portion of the respective belt further from the longitudinal axis than the second shaft means positions the rearward run portion, means mounted on each side frame for retaining the inner intermediate run portion of the respective belt more closely adjacent the longitudinal axis than the front run portion and means for driving said endless belts.

12. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, longitudinally extending bag support means having a forward end and a back end mounted on said frame for supporting empty bags at their bottoms, a pair of endless side conveyor means for moving a plurality of empty bags along the bag support means and retaining said bags in a vertical condition as they are moved forwardly along the bag support means, there being a side conveyor means mounted on each transverse side of the bag support means to extend vertically above said bag support means, each of said side conveyor means including a side frame having a front portion and a back end portion and an endless belt mounted on the side frame, each of said belts having a plurality of horizontally spaced transversely extending pusher members for abutting against the side walls of the bags to retain a group of bags between each adjacent pair of pusher members in a vertical upright condition as the bags are moved along the bag support means, means mounted on the front ends of the side frames forwardly of the forwardmost portion of the belts for releasably holding the foremost bag against forward movement, and means for driving said side belts in synchronism, each of the side belt conveyor means including means on the back end of the respective side frame for mounting the rear course of the side belt, means on the 18 front end of the side frame formounting the forward course of the side belt, and means intermediate the front and back belt mounting means for holding the intermediate course of the side belt in position to diverge from the longitudinal axis in a direction toward the front belt mounting means.

13. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, an elongated generally horizontal, longitudinally extending bag support mounted in vertical spaced relationship to said base, said bag support having a front end portion and a back end portion, means mounted on the base for adjustably varying the elevation of the bag support and retaining the bag support in the adjusted position, an endless bottom belt mounted on the bag support engageable with the bag bottoms for conveying bags from the back end portion to the front end portion, first means mounted on the bag support for movement therewith for driving said bottom belt, a side frame slidably mounted on the base on either transverse side of the bag support, means for transversely adjustably positioning the side frames relative the longitudinal axis, and endless belt means on each side frame to engage the respective edge portions of the bags positioned on said bag support, second means mounted on the side frames to drive each side belt means in the various transversely adjusted positions for advancing the bags toward said forward end portions and third means connected to the first and second drive means for operating each of said first and second drive means.

14. The structure of claim 13 further characterized in that the first drive means includes a piston cylinder combination and means for drivingly connecting the aforementioned piston cylinder combination to the bottom belt, that the second piston cylinder drive means includes a side belt drive piston cylinder combination is mounted on the one of the side frames for movement therewith and means drivingly connecting the last mentioned combination to the side belt, that means are mounted on the forward end of each side frame for retaining bags under compression and in condition to be mechanically removed from the front end portion, that said third means includes means for supplying fluid to each of the cylinders, said fluid supply means including a manifold, separate flexible fluid lines extending from the manifold to each end of each cylinder and connected to the respective ends of the cylinders to simultaneously supply fluid to the corresponding ends of said cylinders andto exhaust the opposite ends of the cylinders, and control means connected to the fluid supply means for alternately connecting the fluid supply through the fluid lines to opposite ends of the cylinder and means at the forward end of the bag magazine connected to the control means for sensing an insuflicient supply of bags and thereupon operating said control means in the aforementioned manner and upon sensing a suflicien-t supply of bags at the forward end, discontinue operation of the control means in the aforementioned manner.

15. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, elongated means mounted on said base for supporting a plurality of bags in spaced relation to said base, said elongated means having a front end portion and a back end portion and including means for advancing the bags from the back end portion to the front end portion, and means connected to said advancing means to drive said advancing means, said advancing means including a drive shaft, means connected to said shaft for driving said shaft, said drive means including a piston cylinder combination, an overrunning clutch mounted on said drive shaft for transmitting only a one way drive force to said shaft, means connected to the overrunning clutch for transmitting a driving force from the piston cylinder combination to the overrunning clutch and means for operating the piston cylinder combination.

16. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, elongated means mounted on said base for supporting a plurality of bags in spaced relation to said base, said elongated means having a front end portion and a back end portion and including means for conveying bags from the back end portion to the front end portion, and means for driving said conveying means, said drive means including a drive shaft, means connected to said shaft for driving said shaft, said shaft drive means including motor means, an overrunning clutch having an outer race and an inner race drivingly connected to said drive shaft for transmitting only a one way driving force to said shaft and means connected to the motor means for transmitting a driving force from the motor means to the overrunning clutch, and means connected to the motor means including a clutch arm rotatably mounted on the drive shaft in driving engagement with the outer race, said motor means including a piston cylinder combination having a piston and a piston rod connected to said piston, said piston rod being pivotally connected to the outer end of said clutch arm, and means connected to said piston cylinder combination for operating said piston.

17. A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, longitudinal extending bag support means having a forward end and a back end mounted on said base for supporting empty bags at their bottoms, a pair of endless side conveyor means for moving a plurality of empty bags along the bag support means and retaining said bags in a vertical condition as said bags are moved along the bag support means, there being a side conveyor means mounted on each transverse side of the bag support means to extend vertically above said .bag support means, each of said side conveyor means including a side frame having a front end-anda back end and an endless belt mounted on the side frame, each of said side belts having a plurality of horizontally spaced transversely extending vertical pusher members forabutting against the side walls of the bag to retain a group of bags between each adjacent pair of pusher members in vertical upright condition as they are moved along the bag sup port means, means for driving said belt in synchronism, a stop adjustably mounted on the forward end of the bag support means for engaging a small portion of the bag side wall, a bag retainer member mounted on each side frame to extend inwardly toward the longitudinal axis, and bag top engaging means mounted on the sideframe to extend between said side frames, said stop, bag retainer members and bag engaging member being positionable to have a back surface in a common vertical plane and spaced forwardly of the endless belts a substantially greater distance than transverse width of the vertical pusher members so that a plurality of bags are removably held at the forward end of the magazine and kept and compressed at forward end of magazine until removed.

18 A bag magazine having a longitudinal axis comprising a base, longitudinally extending bottom conveyor means having a forward end portion and a back end portion mounted on said base for supporting empty bags at their bottom, said bottom conveyor means including a horizontally extending bag support member and means on said support member for supportingly moving bags in a forward direction, a pair of endless side conveyor I means for cooperating with the bottom conveyor means for moving the bags in a forward direction and retaining said bags in a vertical condition as the bags are moved forwardly, there being a side conveyor means mounted on each transverse side of the bag support means to extend vertically above said bottom conveyor means, each of said side conveyor means including a side frame having a back end portion and a front end portion and an endless belt mounted on the side flame, each of the side conveyor belts having a plurality of horizontally extending pusher members for abutting against the adjacent side walls of the bags and retaining a group of bags between each adjacent pair of pusher members in a vertical upright condition as the bags are moved in a forward direction, means mounted at the front end of the side frame forwardly of the forward most portions of said belts for releasably holding the forward most bag against forward movement, means for driving said side belts and the means on said support member, first bag feeler means mounted at the forward end of one of said conveyor means for engaging the foremost bag, means for actuating the drive means when the bag pressure against said first feeler means falls below a predetermined value, second bag feeler means mounted on another conveyor means for engaging the foremost bag in spaced relation to the first feeler means, and means for actuating the drive means independently of the first feeler switch actuating means when the bag pressure against said second feeler means falls below a predetermined value.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,368,483 Monroe Jan. 30, 1945 2,402,056 King June 11, 1946 2,421,515 McNamara June 3, 1947 2,652,919 Iochem Sept. 22, 1953 2,674,853 Born Apr. 13, 1954 2,679,313 Gueifroy May 25, 1954 2,706,034 Russell et a1 Apr. 12, 1955 2,770,984 Loecy Nov. 20, 1956 2,785,791 Cordis Mar. 19, 1957 2,858,007 McCain Oct. 28, 1958 

